In 1856 in Maud Miller, John Greenleaf Whittier wrote “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, it might have been.”
What if, in the 1980s after the cold war, we had said, “We’re all in this together, living on the same planet, daughters and sons of the same God, sharing the same biological nature, homo sapiens, bound together by the same rights and responsibilities, destined for the same goal, union with God and with one another?” What if we had learned to listen compassionately to the needs of other groups and nations? What if we had learned to communicate effectively and lovingly? What if we had acknowledged the dignity, value, and worth of each human person?
If we had a dispute that couldn’t be settled by conflict resolution, arbitration, mediation, what if we had taken the matter to a world court that was part of a democratic world federation? What if we had shared and cooperated more?
Would we be in debt now, strangled by unemployment, in danger from environmental degradation? At risk from terrorists? With dehumanized and imagined enemies? With groups who really hate us and are our real enemies? With soldiers not only killing civilians and children, but killing themselves? Would we be in a world with so much unnecessary suffering?
Is it too late to correct our folly? Why not say the happiest words of tongue and pen are yes, we can. We can listen compassionately to one another. We can create an inclusive economy. We can take better care of our earth. We can settle differences without killing. We can love one another.
I really enjoyed reading this. It makes you wonder if we could live in a world with peace.
thanks for sharing these words of wisdom.
What words of wisdom from Fr. Ben! This message is more than “what if….” in regard to the past. It is “what if….” we begin now to make wise decisions. Maybe peace can begin in our troubled world.
Ben, you would greatly enjoy my 2011 book, No More Enemies. It is currently being (partially) serialized online by Jewish Currents magazine in their blog section at http://jewishcurrents.org/topics/no-more-enemies . Through stories and brief entertaining essays, the book elaborates engagingly on the idea that, while adversaries will always be with us, the “enemies paradigm” is an obsolete way of dealing with them. There is a whole section on how to become active, in your own life, in helping create a No More Enemies reality. I hope you’ll take a look.
I love the title of your book, Deb, and read your blog. I am reminded of Art Gish, author of Hebron Journal I interviewed him on my radio show, Faith and Justice Forum. I remember he said, “I refuse to allow anyone to remain my enemy.” Art had long conversations with Israeli soldiers. He had a more difficult challenge with the settlers, but he didn’t give up easily. To listen compassionately is not easy, but I think it should be taught and practiced in all our schools from kindergarten to graduate programs. I hope I get a chance soon to read No More Enemies.
I could also have included listening to our earth. I think the earth is saying something important to us.